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<title>What Is Facelets? - The Java EE 6 Tutorial</title>
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      <td width="400px"><p class="toc level1"><a href="docinfo.html">Document Information</a></p>
<p class="toc level1 tocsp"><a href="gexaf.html">Preface</a></p>
<p class="toc level1 tocsp"><a href="gfirp.html">Part&nbsp;I&nbsp;Introduction</a></p>
<p class="toc level2"><a href="bnaaw.html">1.&nbsp;&nbsp;Overview</a></p>
<p class="toc level2"><a href="gfiud.html">2.&nbsp;&nbsp;Using the Tutorial Examples</a></p>
<p class="toc level1 tocsp"><a href="bnadp.html">Part&nbsp;II&nbsp;The Web Tier</a></p>
<p class="toc level2"><a href="bnadr.html">3.&nbsp;&nbsp;Getting Started with Web Applications</a></p>
<p class="toc level2"><a href="bnaph.html">4.&nbsp;&nbsp;JavaServer Faces Technology</a></p>
<p class="toc level2"><a href="giepx.html">5.&nbsp;&nbsp;Introduction to Facelets</a></p>
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<p class="toc level3"><a href="">What Is Facelets?</a></p>
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<p class="toc level3"><a href="gipob.html">Developing a Simple Facelets Application</a></p>
<p class="toc level4"><a href="gipob.html#giqte">Creating a Facelets Application</a></p>
<p class="toc level5"><a href="gipob.html#giqqz">Developing a Managed Bean</a></p>
<p class="toc level5"><a href="gipob.html#gjzpv">Creating Facelets Views</a></p>
<p class="toc level4 tocsp"><a href="gipob.html#gjjkc">Configuring the Application</a></p>
<p class="toc level4"><a href="gipob.html#girgf">Building, Packaging, Deploying, and Running the <tt>guessnumber</tt> Facelets Example</a></p>
<p class="toc level5"><a href="gipob.html#gjqzl">To Build, Package, and Deploy the <tt>guessnumber</tt> Example Using NetBeans IDE</a></p>
<p class="toc level5"><a href="gipob.html#gjqyu">To Build, Package, and Deploy the <tt>guessnumber</tt> Example Using Ant</a></p>
<p class="toc level5"><a href="gipob.html#gjqyx">To Run the <tt>guessnumber</tt> Example</a></p>
<p class="toc level3 tocsp"><a href="giqxp.html">Templating</a></p>
<p class="toc level3"><a href="giqzr.html">Composite Components</a></p>
<p class="toc level3"><a href="girgm.html">Resources</a></p>
<p class="toc level2 tocsp"><a href="gjddd.html">6.&nbsp;&nbsp;Expression Language</a></p>
<p class="toc level2"><a href="bnaqz.html">7.&nbsp;&nbsp;Using JavaServer Faces Technology in Web Pages</a></p>
<p class="toc level2"><a href="gjcut.html">8.&nbsp;&nbsp;Using Converters, Listeners, and Validators</a></p>
<p class="toc level2"><a href="bnatx.html">9.&nbsp;&nbsp;Developing with JavaServer Faces Technology</a></p>
<p class="toc level2"><a href="gkmaa.html">10.&nbsp;&nbsp;JavaServer Faces Technology Advanced Concepts</a></p>
<p class="toc level2"><a href="bnawo.html">11.&nbsp;&nbsp;Configuring JavaServer Faces Applications</a></p>
<p class="toc level2"><a href="gkiow.html">12.&nbsp;&nbsp;Using Ajax with JavaServer Faces Technology</a></p>
<p class="toc level2"><a href="gkhxa.html">13.&nbsp;&nbsp;Advanced Composite Components</a></p>
<p class="toc level2"><a href="bnavg.html">14.&nbsp;&nbsp;Creating Custom UI Components</a></p>
<p class="toc level2"><a href="bnafd.html">15.&nbsp;&nbsp;Java Servlet Technology</a></p>
<p class="toc level2"><a href="bnaxu.html">16.&nbsp;&nbsp;Internationalizing and Localizing Web Applications</a></p>
<p class="toc level1 tocsp"><a href="bnayk.html">Part&nbsp;III&nbsp;Web Services</a></p>
<p class="toc level2"><a href="gijti.html">17.&nbsp;&nbsp;Introduction to Web Services</a></p>
<p class="toc level2"><a href="bnayl.html">18.&nbsp;&nbsp;Building Web Services with JAX-WS</a></p>
<p class="toc level2"><a href="giepu.html">19.&nbsp;&nbsp;Building RESTful Web Services with JAX-RS</a></p>
<p class="toc level2"><a href="gjjxe.html">20.&nbsp;&nbsp;Advanced JAX-RS Features</a></p>
<p class="toc level2"><a href="gkojl.html">21.&nbsp;&nbsp;Running the Advanced JAX-RS Example Application</a></p>
<p class="toc level1 tocsp"><a href="bnblr.html">Part&nbsp;IV&nbsp;Enterprise Beans</a></p>
<p class="toc level2"><a href="gijsz.html">22.&nbsp;&nbsp;Enterprise Beans</a></p>
<p class="toc level2"><a href="gijre.html">23.&nbsp;&nbsp;Getting Started with Enterprise Beans</a></p>
<p class="toc level2"><a href="gijrb.html">24.&nbsp;&nbsp;Running the Enterprise Bean Examples</a></p>
<p class="toc level2"><a href="bnbpk.html">25.&nbsp;&nbsp;A Message-Driven Bean Example</a></p>
<p class="toc level2"><a href="gkcqz.html">26.&nbsp;&nbsp;Using the Embedded Enterprise Bean Container</a></p>
<p class="toc level2"><a href="gkidz.html">27.&nbsp;&nbsp;Using Asynchronous Method Invocation in Session Beans</a></p>
<p class="toc level1 tocsp"><a href="gjbnr.html">Part&nbsp;V&nbsp;Contexts and Dependency Injection for the Java EE Platform</a></p>
<p class="toc level2"><a href="giwhb.html">28.&nbsp;&nbsp;Introduction to Contexts and Dependency Injection for the Java EE Platform</a></p>
<p class="toc level2"><a href="gjbls.html">29.&nbsp;&nbsp;Running the Basic Contexts and Dependency Injection Examples</a></p>
<p class="toc level2"><a href="gjehi.html">30.&nbsp;&nbsp;Contexts and Dependency Injection for the Java EE Platform: Advanced Topics</a></p>
<p class="toc level2"><a href="gkhre.html">31.&nbsp;&nbsp;Running the Advanced Contexts and Dependency Injection Examples</a></p>
<p class="toc level1 tocsp"><a href="bnbpy.html">Part&nbsp;VI&nbsp;Persistence</a></p>
<p class="toc level2"><a href="bnbpz.html">32.&nbsp;&nbsp;Introduction to the Java Persistence API</a></p>
<p class="toc level2"><a href="gijst.html">33.&nbsp;&nbsp;Running the Persistence Examples</a></p>
<p class="toc level2"><a href="bnbtg.html">34.&nbsp;&nbsp;The Java Persistence Query Language</a></p>
<p class="toc level2"><a href="gjitv.html">35.&nbsp;&nbsp;Using the Criteria API to Create Queries</a></p>
<p class="toc level2"><a href="gkjiq.html">36.&nbsp;&nbsp;Creating and Using String-Based Criteria Queries</a></p>
<p class="toc level2"><a href="gkjjf.html">37.&nbsp;&nbsp;Controlling Concurrent Access to Entity Data with Locking</a></p>
<p class="toc level2"><a href="gkjia.html">38.&nbsp;&nbsp;Improving the Performance of Java Persistence API Applications By Setting a Second-Level Cache</a></p>
<p class="toc level1 tocsp"><a href="gijrp.html">Part&nbsp;VII&nbsp;Security</a></p>
<p class="toc level2"><a href="bnbwj.html">39.&nbsp;&nbsp;Introduction to Security in the Java EE Platform</a></p>
<p class="toc level2"><a href="bncas.html">40.&nbsp;&nbsp;Getting Started Securing Web Applications</a></p>
<p class="toc level2"><a href="bnbyk.html">41.&nbsp;&nbsp;Getting Started Securing Enterprise Applications</a></p>
<p class="toc level1 tocsp"><a href="gijue.html">Part&nbsp;VIII&nbsp;Java EE Supporting Technologies</a></p>
<p class="toc level2"><a href="gijto.html">42.&nbsp;&nbsp;Introduction to Java EE Supporting Technologies</a></p>
<p class="toc level2"><a href="bncih.html">43.&nbsp;&nbsp;Transactions</a></p>
<p class="toc level2"><a href="bncjh.html">44.&nbsp;&nbsp;Resource Connections</a></p>
<p class="toc level2"><a href="bncdq.html">45.&nbsp;&nbsp;Java Message Service Concepts</a></p>
<p class="toc level2"><a href="bncgv.html">46.&nbsp;&nbsp;Java Message Service Examples</a></p>
<p class="toc level2"><a href="gkahp.html">47.&nbsp;&nbsp;Advanced Bean Validation Concepts and Examples</a></p>
<p class="toc level2"><a href="gkeed.html">48.&nbsp;&nbsp;Using Java EE Interceptors</a></p>
<p class="toc level1 tocsp"><a href="gkgjw.html">Part&nbsp;IX&nbsp;Case Studies</a></p>
<p class="toc level2"><a href="gkaee.html">49.&nbsp;&nbsp;Duke's Tutoring Case Study Example</a></p>
<p class="toc level1 tocsp"><a href="idx-1.html">Index</a></p>
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<a name="gijtu"></a><h2>What Is Facelets?</h2>
<a name="indexterm-226"></a><p>Facelets is a powerful but lightweight page declaration language that is used to
build JavaServer Faces views using HTML style templates and to build component trees.
Facelets features include the following:</p>


<ul><li><p>Use of XHTML for creating web pages</p>

</li>
<li><p>Support for Facelets tag libraries in addition to JavaServer Faces and JSTL tag libraries</p>

</li>
<li><p>Support for the Expression Language (EL)</p>

</li>
<li><p>Templating for components and pages</p>

</li></ul>
<p>Advantages of Facelets for large-scale development projects include the following:</p>


<ul><li><p>Support for code reuse through templating and composite components</p>

</li>
<li><p>Functional extensibility of components and other server-side objects through customization</p>

</li>
<li><p>Faster compilation time</p>

</li>
<li><p>Compile-time EL validation</p>

</li>
<li><p>High-performance rendering</p>

</li></ul>
<p>In short, the use of Facelets reduces the time and effort that
needs to be spent on development and deployment.</p>

<p><a name="indexterm-227"></a>Facelets views are usually created as XHTML pages. JavaServer Faces implementations support 
XHTML pages created in conformance with the XHTML Transitional Document Type Definition (DTD),
as listed at  <a href="http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/#a_dtd_XHTML-1.0-Transitional">http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/#a_dtd_XHTML-1.0-Transitional</a>. By convention, web pages built with XHTML have
an <tt>.xhtml</tt> extension.</p>

<p><a name="indexterm-228"></a>JavaServer Faces technology supports various tag libraries to add components to a web page.
To support the JavaServer Faces tag library mechanism, Facelets uses XML namespace declarations.
<a href="#gjbox">Table&nbsp;5-1</a> lists the tag libraries supported by Facelets.</p>

<a name="gjbox"></a><p class="caption">Table&nbsp;5-1 Tag Libraries Supported by Facelets</p><table><col width="14%"><col width="42%"><col width="6%"><col width="23%"><col width="12%"><tr><th align="left" valign="top" scope="column"><p>Tag Library</p>

</th>
<th align="left" valign="top" scope="column"><p>URI</p>

</th>
<th align="left" valign="top" scope="column"><p>Prefix</p>

</th>
<th align="left" valign="top" scope="column"><p>Example</p>

</th>
<th align="left" valign="top" scope="column"><p>Contents</p>

</th>
</tr>
<tr><td align="left" valign="top" scope="row"><p>JavaServer Faces Facelets Tag Library</p>

</td>
<td align="left" valign="top" scope="row"><p><tt>http://java.sun.com/jsf/facelets</tt></p>

</td>
<td align="left" valign="top" scope="row"><p>
<tt>ui:</tt></p>

</td>
<td align="left" valign="top" scope="row"><p><tt>ui:component</tt></p>

<p><tt>ui:insert</tt></p>

</td>
<td align="left" valign="top" scope="row"><p>Tags for templating</p>

</td>
</tr>
<tr><td align="left" valign="top" scope="row"><p>JavaServer Faces HTML Tag Library</p>

</td>
<td align="left" valign="top" scope="row"><p><tt>http://java.sun.com/jsf/html</tt></p>

</td>
<td align="left" valign="top" scope="row"><p><tt>h:</tt></p>

</td>
<td align="left" valign="top" scope="row"><p><tt>h:head</tt></p>

<p><tt>h:body</tt></p>

<p><tt>h:outputText</tt></p>

<p><tt>h:inputText</tt></p>

</td>
<td align="left" valign="top" scope="row"><p>JavaServer Faces component tags for all
<tt>UIComponents</tt></p>

</td>
</tr>
<tr><td align="left" valign="top" scope="row"><p>JavaServer Faces Core Tag Library</p>

</td>
<td align="left" valign="top" scope="row"><p> <tt>http://java.sun.com/jsf/core</tt></p>

</td>
<td align="left" valign="top" scope="row"><p><tt>f:</tt></p>

</td>
<td align="left" valign="top" scope="row"><p><tt>f:actionListener</tt></p>

<p><tt>f:attribute</tt></p>

</td>
<td align="left" valign="top" scope="row"><p>Tags for JavaServer Faces custom actions that
are independent of any particular <tt>RenderKit</tt></p>

</td>
</tr>
<tr><td align="left" valign="top" scope="row"><p>JSTL Core Tag Library</p>

</td>
<td align="left" valign="top" scope="row"><p><tt>http://java.sun.com/jsp/jstl/core</tt></p>

</td>
<td align="left" valign="top" scope="row"><p><tt>c:</tt></p>

</td>
<td align="left" valign="top" scope="row"><p><tt>c:forEach</tt></p>

<p><tt>c:catch</tt></p>

</td>
<td align="left" valign="top" scope="row"><p>JSTL 1.1 Core Tags</p>

</td>
</tr>
<tr><td align="left" valign="top" scope="row"><p>JSTL Functions
Tag Library</p>

</td>
<td align="left" valign="top" scope="row"><p><tt>http://java.sun.com/jsp/jstl/functions</tt> </p>

</td>
<td align="left" valign="top" scope="row"><p><tt>fn:</tt></p>

</td>
<td align="left" valign="top" scope="row"><p><tt>fn:toUpperCase</tt></p>

<p><tt>fn:toLowerCase</tt></p>

</td>
<td align="left" valign="top" scope="row"><p>JSTL 1.1 Functions Tags</p>

</td>
</tr>
</table><p>In addition, Facelets supports tags for composite components for which you can declare
custom prefixes. For more information on composite components, see <a href="giqzr.html">Composite Components</a>.</p>

<p><a name="indexterm-229"></a>Based on the JavaServer Faces support for Expression Language (EL) syntax, Facelets uses EL
expressions to reference properties and methods of managed beans. EL expressions can be
used to bind  component objects or values to methods or properties of
managed beans. For more information on using EL expressions, see <a href="bnaqm.html#bnaqp">Using the EL to Reference Managed Beans</a>.</p>


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